Bronx Bomber Ball

With just over a week until opening day, the crew talks about the potential Yankees-Red Sox matchup in London, latest passengers on the Scranton Shuttle, Tyler Wade earning his spot on the 25 man roster, Pinstripe previews, and more! Make sure to go subscribe and rate us 5 stars on Apple Podcasts. You can also find us on Soundcloud.   SoundCloud Link   Photo Credit: AP Chris O'Meara

Episode 7 of the BBB podcast - tonight we introduce another new co host: AC, talk about the players recently sent down, three new Pinstripe Previews, March Madness talk, previewing the Astros, and much more! Make sure to go subscribe and rate us 5 stars on Apple Podcasts. You can also find us on Soundcloud (link below). Photo Credit: NYDN

As the Yankees head closer to the 2016 Winter Meetings, it is crucial that they lock up a reliable designated hitter to pad the middle of the lineup. With a lot of different options out there, the one that makes the most sense to me is Mike Napoli. In 2016, Napoli (35) had one of the best years of his career belting 34 home runs while driving in 101 runs and playing in 150 games. Not only did Napoli put up big time numbers, he did it in one of the least hitter-friendly ballparks in all of baseball. I can only imagine what kind of power numbers Napoli could put up in Yankee stadium. Photo via Fansided

Coming off of a rough four game sweep of the division leading Boston Red Sox, the Yankees are looking to rebound against the Rays who are 21 games under .500. This will be the fourth and final series against Tampa Bay as the Yankees have gone 5-4 against them so far this season. The Yankees are coming into this series four games behind the second wild card spot. With October looming, a series win is crucial if the Yankees want to preserve any hopes of reaching the playoffs this season.

Clint Frazier Photo Credit: Cheryl Pursell | Pinstriped Prospects Trade deadline sellers for the first time in over 25 years, the New York Yankees made an abundance of trades in an attempt for a rebuild of some sort. Although the Yankees will remain competitive, the moves made were clearly in the interest of the team in the long term as opposed to this year's team. First, they went out and dealt Aroldis Chapman to the Cubs for four players including Gleyber Torres and Adam Warren. The Yankees next move was trading Andrew Miller to the Indians for four prospects including Clint Frazier. Then, the team acquired Tyler Clippard from the Diamondbacks to fortify the bullpen for the time being. But the Yankees weren't done there. On the day of the trade deadline, the Yankees traded Carlos Beltran to the Rangers for three prospects, and they got rid of Ivan Nova for two players to be named later from the Pirates. Now, hear from our very own writer's with their thoughts on the ...

Let me preface this article by saying this is certainly a long shot. But in a season full of ups and downs (mostly downs thus far), Yankee fans cannot help but wonder if Brian Cashman and the Bombers have a legitimate shot at landing one of the best starting pitchers in all of baseball. Photo via the Associated Press

If you’re a Yankees fan, chances are you are sick and tired of the night in and night out lackluster performances put on by this underachieving and overpaid Yankees roster. We are now nearing the end of June which brings us within 5 games of the halfway point. Currently the Yankees are two games under .500 and showing no signs of turning things around. Being a lifelong Yankees fan, I am sick and tired of the complacency shown by the management and coaching but more importantly the Yankees players themselves. This is a roster that has a payroll just north of $214 BILLION (!), second only to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Photo Credit: Getty Images/Jim McIsaac

After a 45-minute rain delay to start the game, the Yankees came out hot, scoring early and often to help starting pitcher Masahiro Tanaka earn his fourth win of the season. New York used a four-run first inning, which included an RBI double from Rob Refsnyder and a two-run home run from Carlos Beltran, his 17th of the season, to jump on the Twins early. Didi Gregorius capped off the first inning scoring with a run-scoring infield single, raising his batting average to .280 on the season. Picture Credit: Associated Press/Jim Mone

The Yankees came into Thursday’s series opener with the Oakland Athletics looking to build off of the momentum from last night’s 4-2 win over the Diamondbacks.  The Yankees sent Ivan Nova (2-1, 3.70 ERA) to the mound, who is coming off perhaps his best start of the season last weekend against the White Sox. He allowed four hits and one earned run in 5.2 IP. Over his previous two starts, Ivan Nova has surrendered only two runs over 10.1 innings. The Oakland Athletics countered with Kendall Graveman (1-5, 5.84 ERA), a 25 year-old RHP, who has found himself in the midst of a rocky start to the 2016 campaign. In his last start, he was chased in the third inning after giving up 6 runs to the Baltimore Orioles. The Yankees were swept by Oakland in New York back in March. Picture Credit: Associated Press/Ben Margot

After losing 7-1 to Chris Sale and the White Sox in the series opener, the Yankees captured Game 2 of this three-game series by a score of 2-1. Ivan Nova pitched brilliantly, throwing 5.2 scoreless innings, before the Yankees bullpen took over. First, Dellin Betances struck out all 4 batters he faced, and then both Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman pitched scoreless outings to give the Yankees their 15th win of the season. Today, the Yankees sent Masahiro Tanaka (1-0, 3.11 ERA) to the hill to face Chicago’s Miguel Gonzalez (0-0, 4.91 ERA). The Yankees are trying to capture their third straight series win and complete the home stand on a high note.  Photo Credit: Associated Press/Kathy Willens

The Yankees secured their series win last night with a 7-3 win over the Kansas City Royals. Chase Headley finally hit his first home run of the season while Didi Gregorius and Starlin Castro both homered off of former Yankee Ian Kennedy. Today the Yankees started a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox, who currently lead the American League Central. The White Sox sent Chris Sale (7-0, 1.79 ERA) to the mound while New York countered with the struggling Luis Severino (0-5, 6.12 ERA). Sale has been dominant all season, striking out 47 batters in 50.1 innings, while only allowing 29 hits and 10 earned runs. Photo Credit: Elsa/Getty Images

After yesterday’s dramatic walk off win, the Yankees were searching to ride the momentum for their first series sweep since August 2015. Michael Pineda took the mound for the Yankees and got off to a bad start early giving up a 5 spot in the first inning. It was a hit-or-miss afternoon for Big Mike as he surrendered 10 hits, 7 runs (4 home runs) while striking out 9 batters over his 5 innings of work. Tampa Bay countered with LHP Drew Smyly who was coming off back-to-back 11 strikeout performances still in search of his first win of the season. He overwhelmed Yankee hitters over his 7 innings of work surrendering only 1 run and striking out 6. Picture Credit: Associated Press/Adam Hunger

Although the Yankees finally made it back to the postseason in 2015, they were abruptly eliminated in the Wild Card round which left Yankee fans disappointed. With exactly one week until Opening Day, I wanted to give you my projections for the 2016 New York Yankees lineup and rotation. The Yankees success will ultimately be determined by how healthy they can be over the course of the season. It will be interesting to see whether veterans like A-Rod, Teixeira, Beltran and Ellsbury can consistently produce over the next six or seven months. The acquisitions of both Starlin Castro and Aaron Hicks help add depth and stability in the lineup. The pitching rotation is a big question mark, but thanks to an improved bullpen the Yankees should be able to shorten ballgames and salvage a few more wins. Without further ado, here are my 2016 projections: Photo Via NY Daily News  

Below is the fantasy draft results from the BBB's fantasy draft for those interested. We have a 12 team league which is comprised of all of the writers here at the BBB . We held the draft Sunday, March 20th. The link to the fantasy league if you would like to view it is at the bottom of this page.

Perhaps one of the most intriguing starting pitchers coming into the 2015 season was newly acquired RHP Nathan Eovaldi from the Miami Marlins last offseason. The hard throwing 25-year old righty led the Yankees with 14 wins before going on the disabled list in September. What alarms most Yankee fans about Eovaldi’s 2015 campaign was how well opponents hit against him. In 154.1 innings pitched, “Nasty Nate” surrendered 175 hits, one year removed from leading the league in hits allowed with 223 in 2014. He finished 2015 going 14-3 with a 4.20 ERA and an inadequate WHIP of nearly 1.50.

As the 2015 World Champion Kansas City Royals proved, a good bullpen can take a team deep into the postseason. As we all so helplessly witnessed last season, the New York Yankees bullpen needs some work. Both Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances were virtually lights out for the majority of the season and the Yankees also received solid 2015 showings out of LHP Justin Wilson, RHP Adam Warren, and LHP Chasen Shreve. Outside of those 4 relievers, the Yankees bullpen was wildly inconsistent the entire season which left Miller and Betances with over strenuous workloads. With a lot of question marks in the Yankees bullpen, signing multiple relief pitchers with a strong track record will be imperative to their success heading into 2016. Let’s take a look at some of the arms that could help bolster the Yankees bullpen at a reasonable price tag.

On the fourth episode of the Bronx Bomber Blog Podcast, Matt Cote, Aaron Carroll, and Bryan Peng discuss the trade rumors surrounding Andrew Miller, debate Jason Heyward and Justin Upton, whether the Yankees need a starting pitcher or a more consistent outfielder, talk Ben Zobrist, and finish with a discussion on how the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry needs to be more intense. If you'd like to watch it on Youtube, you can watch directly from here or follow this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ez7jtKoSZ7U ! If you'd like to listen to the audio version on soundcloud, it is below so you can listen here, or follow this link to our soundcloud  https://soundcloud.com/bronxbomberblog/bbb-episode-four-andrew-miller-heyward-vs-upton-and-ben-zobrist . Follow Matt Cote  @mcote31 Follow Aaron Carroll  @ACarroll116 Follow Bryan Peng  @bpeng7 Follow the Bronx Bomber Blog  @bronxbomberblog

After hearing of the passing of Yankee all-time great Yogi Berra, the Yanks looked to honor Yogi with a series win on Wednesday night in Toronto. In their last head to head matchup of the season with the division leading Blue Jays, the Yankees would send Ivan Nova to the mound in place of Masahiro Tanaka who is nursing a hamstring injury. Despite a solid spot start from Nova, the Yankees offense was completely shut down by young Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman. Any hopes of a first place finish are slowly dwindling, thanks to an inconsistent Yankee lineup.

After losing Game 1 of the series on Monday night to Toronto’s Ace and AL Cy Young favorite David Price, the Yankees found themselves once again in a must win situation. Going into Tuesday’s matchup, the Yankees had lost 12 of 17 games against the division leading Blue Jays this season. With just over a week left in September, each game becomes more important than the last. After failing to capitalize in game one, the Yankees received a much needed win on Tuesday evening, thanks to a complete team effort.  

With just over a month and a half left in the 2015 regular season, the New York Yankees find them themselves in a sudden dog fight for first place. Following the Yankees 5- game losing streak, countered with the Toronto Blue Jays 10-game winning streak, the Yanks abruptly fell out of first place for the first time since July 1 st . Demands and expectations in the Bronx are high as the Yankees are looking to reach the postseason for the first time since 2012; anything short of that would be considered a disappointment in the eyes of the Yankee faithful. Going forward, the Yankees have a few things that must go right in order for them to find themselves playing past the first week in October.